Z's Chicken Curry and Rice
This is a simple dish and a great way to use leftover BBQ chicken or you can use a rotisserie chicken from the store to save time. Use a pressure cooker rice recipe which can be made hours ahead of time. After a recent trip to Spain, I added thinly sliced apple to the ingredients because I had a dish there with apple that was amazing!
This is a simple dish and a great way to use leftover BBQ chicken or you can use a rotisserie chicken from the store to save time. Use a pressure cooker rice recipe which can be made hours ahead of time. After a recent trip to Spain, I added thinly sliced apple to the ingredients because I had a dish there with apple that was amazing!
- Carbohydrate 19.2241851200879 g
- Cholesterol 347.733333333333 mg
- Fat 71.6224728269572 g
- Fiber 3.53578807356715 g
- Protein 91.4622641218782 g
- Saturated Fat 19.6924854815921 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (563g)
- Sodium 386.74289724038 mg
- Sugar 15.6883970465207 g
- Trans Fat 6.07544973865577 g
- Calories 1106 calories
Step-by-step
- Start cooking brown rice
- Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add curry powder and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add flour and combine. Cook for 1 minute. Don't let flour brown.
- Add broth and cook for a few minutes until it is thickened.
- Once thickened add shredded chicken and frozen peas. Cook until hot.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Serve over brown rice
Building the Roux Foundation
Why does raw flour taste pasty in a simmering sauce? Starches require sustained heat to gelatinize, but raw wheat proteins demand careful monitoring so they do not scorch. Whisking vegetable oil and curry powder together over medium heat for precisely 60 seconds toasts the spices without browning the flour. This brief cooking step breaks down the raw grain flavor and coats the fat molecules evenly. Pouring cold chicken broth directly into this hot fat-and-flour paste requires vigorous whisking to prevent lumps from forming.
Managing Moisture and Starch
Coconut milk contains emulsified fats that split when subjected to prolonged, aggressive boiling. Simmer the sauce gently after adding the dairy to maintain a smooth, velvety emulsion rather than a separated, greasy liquid. Shredded chicken absorbs surrounding liquids rapidly. Add the cooked meat only after the base thickens to a coat-the-back-of-a-spoon consistency, ensuring the protein remains tender instead of waterlogged.
Texture and Swaps
Water chestnuts and bamboo shoots introduce distinct crunch against soft grains of brown rice and tender peas. Thinly sliced apples add crisp tartness, though firm pears make an acceptable substitute at a one-to-one ratio without altering the structural integrity of the sauce. Frozen peas should go in straight from the freezer; thawing them beforehand makes them burst and release unwanted moisture into the curry.
